ABSTRACT: The unprecedented nature of the financial crisis in autumn 2008 led the
European Commission to approve a series of state support measures for
the financial sector under Article 87(3)(b), which allows for aid to be
considered compatible with the common market if it is “to promote the
execution of an important project of common European interest or to
remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State.” There
was a consensus that the very serious financial crisis constituted a
“serious disturbance” to the European economy.

There are minimal
precedents on the use of Article 87(3)(b), and therefore the Commission
has advanced a framework for the analysis, especially in its
communication, The Return to Viability and the Assessment of
Restructuring Measures in the Financial Sector in the Current Crisis
under the State Aid Rules. This paper discusses that communication and
the appropriate framework for analyzing aid to the financial sector
given under Article 87(3)(b).